Politics

Many media outlets are touting the 89th Academy Awards, set to air later on tonight, to be one of the most ‘political’ Oscar ceremonies in recent memory; if the previous award ceremonies this season are anything to go by, it’s very likely that Hollywood’s stars will be using their platforms to talk about one important political issue or another.

Time and time again, Adam Curtis has demonstrated an inimitable ability to delve into the heart of an issue – be it the manufactured and simplified story of militant islam as espoused by western powers in Bitter Lake, or the failure to harness the utopian potential of early technology in All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace – and sketch out the complex histories, mechanisms and important figures that underpin these particularly postmodern narratives. HyperNormalisation, which was released on BBC iPlayer on Sunday night, is Curtis’ latest attempt to trace the multifaceted malaise that seems to pervade overstimulated life in the 21st century.